Devon Cricket Board - A Division: Theeds promises fight to finish

SANDFORD skipper Matt Theedom has promised Exeter a fight to the finish in the race for the second promotion slot behind champs-in-waiting Torquay.

Torquay only need two points off Alphington tomorrow to be sure of promotion – and 11 in the match will send them up as champions.

Only nine points separate Exeter (213pts) in second from Sandford (204) and with 60 available in the last three games it is wide open.

Sandford, who took a winning draw off Torquay last Saturday, go to Abbotskerwell tomorrow, followed by Cornwood and Brixham to finish.

Exeter’s run in is Cornwood away tomorrow, then relegation-threatened Shobrooke Park at home with bottom side Barton to finish.

On paper Exeter’s run in looks easier, although the survival issues hanging over Shobrooke and Barton are bound to make them fight tooth and nail.

Theedom admitted not beating Torquay could come back to haunt his side, but it the games ahead that matter most.

“Having got Torquay 90 for six we really should have bowled them out – and one more wicket probably would have opened up the tail for us,” said Theedom.

“The points we didn’t get would have had us breathing down Exeter’s neck. But we can’t dwell on that.

“Our target is to win all three of our remaining games and keep nipping at Exeter’s heels until the last day of the season.

“There is still a lot of cricket to be played and it is too close to say now who is going to finish where?”

Tipper said he wouldn’t have expected anything other than a fight to the finish from Sandford – and his view is ‘bring it on’.

He added: “If Matt says they intend nipping at our heels that is fine by me as it means they will be behind us.

“I look at the league fixtures left to play and thin we have the easier run in, but I would not want to be going to Barton on the last day of the season if we have to win to go up and they have to win to stay up.

“Cornwood away isn’t going to be easy either. I believe their league position is a false one and it will be hard winning there.

“Ultimately we have to target three wins to finish as the gap between us an Sandford isn’t much.”

Exeter and Sandford are both unchanged tomorrow.

Cornwood captain Craig Harris is looking for more of the same that produced the win over Barton last time out.

The win over Barton showed a lot of heart,” said Harris.

“ I have already mentioned about winning the toss on a damp day, but the more I think about it the happier I am with the way we performed.

“Our bowling unit were patient, disciplined and intelligent - and that showed as the wickets were shared around.

“Batting, we again showed patience, and accelerated through the innings to win by eight wickets .”

Cornwood play all the top three in their run-out games – Exeter, Sandford and Torquay to finish.

The Corns won’t finish above mid-table, but it is the 2nd, 3rd and 4th XIs which are the focus of attention over the next few weeks.

“Our aim as a club is to sustain the position all of our teams have in their respective divisions,” said Harris.

“Over the next few weeks we will look to get as many points as we can, whilst balancing the teams so to achieve our goals.”

At the other end of the table Shobrooke Park go to Braunton looking to build on their win over Alphington in the struggle to stay up.

Shobrooke remain in the bottom two with four points to make up on Alphington if they are going to get out of trouble.

Skipper Chris Ford has been relaxed by Shobrooke’s position all season and remains so even though the pressure is on.

“Had we lost to Alphington it would have been game over, but we didn’t and now they are the ones who are looking over their shoulder.

“It is so close between all three of us down at the bottom, I suspect whoever keeps their nerve will probably be the ones to stay up.”

While Shobrooke are working on staying up, Braunton are still in with a theoretical sniff of going up.

However, skipper Jon Baglow believes it is a two-horse race now as Braunton’s draw at Brixham last Saturday ruled them out.

“We had a decent game of cricket at Brixham betweeen two fairly even sides trying to stay in the promotion race,” said Baglow.

“Brixham got off to a flyer and 300-plus looked likely, so we were pretty happy with 263 and thought we had a good chance of chasing them down.

“It looked on the cards at drinks with about 125 for one on the board.

“Brixham had a good eight-over spell after the re-start and then that put pressure on the incoming batsman.

“Lee Upham bowled well at a crucial stage of the game and we settled for a draw in the last over.

“Brixham have a decent side and will be one of my favourites for promotion next season.”

Baglow said a draw did neither side any favours and left it between Exetr and Sandford.

“I think it is Exeter’’s to lose now,” said Baglow. “Only Sandford can realistically catch them, but I can't see Exetr dropping any more than the nine points between them looking at the games to be played.

“We hope to finish as high as we can, pushing Sandford for third. While we will be looking to win the last three games,

“Personally, I am starting to think about next season and how to develop what we have in place at the club.”

Alphington captain Mark Porter has just about got over the defeat by Shobrooke, although he couldn’t dwell on it long as he has had other things to worry about this week before going to Torquay.

Porter is faced with making five or six changes to his side due to availability issues, something which has been a recurring theme all season.

“Playing the unbeaten leaders away from home with half the side missing is not a great position to be in,” said Porter.

“We will take what we can out of the game and will need to take more out of the next two games to stay up.”

Among the absentees are Steve Poortman, Nick Ainscough, Ian McNamara and Tom Weeks.

After only taking losing draws off Exeter and Sandford on the last two Saturdays, Torquay captain Justin Yau is determined to clinch promotion and the divisional title at Alphington’s expense.

However, Yau excepts Alphington have their own reasons for wanting a win.

“Alphington will be looking to pick and scrap for as many points as they look to preserve their status in the A Division,” said Yau.

“They ran us very close last time they came to the Rec' and I expect nothing less this year.

“We remain unbeaten which was our target against Exeter and Sandford- both teams played well against us and despite us being off-colour, we were able to come away with 19 points and not lose which was what we wanted.

“We are two points from promotion and 11 points from being crowned champions and we are playing at our ground. That should be a big enough motivation this week to gain the points we require.

“We do not want to crawl over the line- we haven't played to our potential in the last month or so and we need a big performance and really show everyone in this league why we are top by 49 points.

“We are due a big performance and I'm hoping this week will be the one!

“I’m looking for one final push from the lads and then we can relax and enjoy the run in.”